


Dragons bring all the coins to the yard

by twisted_sheets



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Accidental Bonding, Alternate Universe - Dragons, Imprinting, Inappropriate use of song lyrics, M/M, Mating Bond, Multi, Neko Atsume AU, OR IS IT, Sort of anyway, dun dun duuuun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-31
Updated: 2016-01-31
Packaged: 2018-05-17 09:00:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5862862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twisted_sheets/pseuds/twisted_sheets
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dragons are rare pets only for those who can afford their high prices. There are some species in the wild, and it is a common tactic for people to leave treats and things in the hopes of attracting an elusive one, for them to capture and hopefully tame as their pet.</p><p>Not much of an animal lover himself, Kagami Taiga does not pay any attention to the frenzy at all, seemingly content in his solitary lifestyle. So of course, he finds a white dragon with pale blue eyes shivering in his balcony.  </p><p>(The very vaguely Neko Atsume/Dragon AU mashup no one asked for, but is here anyway. Dragons = Cats. Look at it and despair.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dragons bring all the coins to the yard

Of course it was a bad idea.

Taiga knew it the moment he saw the suspiciously shivering lump in a corner of his balcony, one winter morning when he opened his door to shovel off the pile of snow left from last night’s snowstorm. Knew it the moment he, with cautious steps, approached it, and then, with even more cautious fingers, brushed off the snow to reveal the tiny white-scaled ball of dragon underneath.

He had reached out to touch the dragon, to search for signs of life, when its long neck uncurled, and then it growled at him, breath coming out in a couple of puffy little clouds Taiga would never admit he found _cute_.

“Fuck!” Taiga jumped back, slipping and falling hard on his ass in the snow, startled. The dragon reared upright, unfurled its thin, near transparent wings, spread out that it’s easily trice the dragon’s size, hissing at him, tiny, but very sharp teeth bared, head cocked back as if to spit flame into Taiga’s face. Taiga scrambled out of range, but then it collapsed in a pitiful heap back into the suddenly melted snow.

Letting out an explosive breath, Taiga muttered, “Fucking hell, you scared me, you little shit.” He really should have gotten a clue then, but that still didn’t stop him from scooping up the unnaturally cold dragon with careful hands, and then he cradled the shaking creature close to his chest, its shaky little puffs of breath seemingly synching with the rapid beats of his heart, and then brought it into the warmth of his house.

***

Dragons weren’t exactly _rare_ nowadays. You can buy one or several, just like a friend of Taiga’s dad did (he bought _five_ ), but they weren’t exactly what you’d call as _cheap_ , and very unlikely to turn up in other people’s balconies if already owned.

There _were_ some kinds in the wild, but they were very secretive and hard to find. They didn’t like coming near human homes, despite some people leaving out treats and toys in their yards in a fruitless effort to attract and capture them. At least that was what Taiga has heard. He was not one to pay attention to such things, not being an animal lover himself.

So when Taiga had rushed the tiny dragon to the neighborhood vet, he fully expected that it was someone’s lost pet, microchipped and registered into the system, but to his complete surprise, it turned out he was wrong.

“Wait, so you mean it’s—”

“ _He_. Male dragons usually have horns,” corrected the vet (a Dr. Hyuuga, from what Taiga saw at the sign on door) in a curt voice, pointing at the curly dark horns of the dragon, now bundled up in warmed towels as it ( _he_ ) lay over a heating pad after a lukewarm bath. The little shit must have so weak; he hadn’t even made a fuss during the whole thing. “He doesn’t have a chip on him, and there haven’t been any reports of any lost or missing dragons, and judging from his unclipped wings, he’s probably unowned and wild.”

“Oh.” As far as Taiga knew, most pet dragons had their wings clipped. Not enough to render them flightless or to damage the shape of the wings, just incapable of escaping from their owners. Taiga recalled one of his friends being really angry about that.

Unbidden, Taiga recalled the white dragon’s wings spread out, its scales shining like his mother’s pearls under the sunlight. _Iridescent_ , Tatsuya would have said, way smarter with words than Taiga would ever be. It would have been a shame clip those, to not let them reach its full potential of flight.

Absently, he patted the bundled-up dragon on the head, as if to reassure him. It then made a curious little purring noise, like that of a happy cat.

“Yeah, _oh_.” Dr. Hyuuga leveled Taiga with a dirty glare, eyes glinting angrily behind his glasses. “You said you found him in your balcony? Are you one of those crazy dragon nuts who leave food and toys out for dragons?”

“No! What the hell?” Bristling, Taiga added, “I just found i—him under the snow. I have no idea how he even _got_ there.”

“Well, neither do I!” the vet snapped back, glare sharper.

“What the hell is your problem?” Taiga shouted back, temper rising and glaring back. He’s doing a good deed here, bringing the dragon in the vet when he could just have let it freeze in the cold. What the hell did he do to deserve this shouting?

They glared at each other for a few moments, before the vet finally gave up with a loud snort. He then shifted his glare to the dragon, who appeared to be not bothered by the noise they’d made, barely moving except for the occasional shiver. You’d almost think he wasn’t there at all.

Taiga gave it another little pat, though not quite sure why. The dragon made the happy purring noise again, so he guessed it was alright.

The vet stomps over to rummage inside the cabinets, grumbling very loudly under his breath, “We aren’t exactly in an area where wild dragons live. What the fuck is he doing here? It’s not even mating season yet for them to fuck around. Goddamn dragons. Why the hell did people even get the idea to make them pets I don’t know—”

Taiga looked everywhere except the rampaging vet, shifting uneasily on his feet. How long was this going to take? Not that he had anything much to do back at his apartment, but he had expected not to stay this long. The dragon was fine now, wasn’t he? So why should he still be here? He should go, leave the dragon to the vet, who probably knows a dragon shelter or something or even a potential owner to take care of the dragon.

He jumped back when vet slammed the cabinet close, and then all but shoved an eyedropper into Taiga’s startled hands. “Here. You might as well learn.”

Staring at the eyedropper, Taiga, bewildered, asked, “Learn what?”

“What else, idiot?” The vet smirked at him, unholy glee in his eyes. “How to care for _your_ dragon.”

***

If he’d only known then the _shit_ he’d get into when he took that little fucker in, Taiga would have told the ( _evil_ , that asshole was _evil_ to put him through this, he must have _known_ , he should never trusted those Google reviews) vet no, and then he would gone on his way.

Which was what he did, actually, but then the moment he got out of the door, the dragon, mostly silent before, cried out, a pitiful, reedy little whine, and the next thing Taiga knew there was an intense pain in his chest, like someone had reached in and then yanked out his heart, and before he knew it, he was falling face-first into the snow.

And _that_ , was how Taiga found out about _imprinting_.

***

“He’s imprinted on you.”

“Wait, what? Like a duckling? He thinks I’m his _mom_?”

“No, not that kind of imprinting. He thinks you’re his _mate_.”

That was the short explanation Dr. Hyuuga gave him, when the fucker finally had stopped laughing his head off and dragged Taiga’s “unconscious ass” back into the clinic. Taiga would have punched him. _Hard_. But he was still hurting too much from whatever the fuck was that, and he had a dragon clinging to him on his chest as if his life depended on it.

Which, as the vet further explained, was exactly the case.

“Dragons mate for life. Once they find their mate, they’re linked, and stay close throughout their lives. If the other one goes too far from their mate, well,” he smirked at Taiga then, “you know what happens.”

 _Till death do us part_ , was the dragons’ vow, and extreme pain was the reward for mates that stray away from the other.

“But that doesn’t explain why he imprinted on me as his mate!” he snapped back. “I’m a guy! Shouldn’t he want, you know, girl dragons? And isn’t he like, a baby or something? Look at him, he’s tiny!”

The dragon on his chest made a rumbly little noise at that, breath puffing warmly against his jaw, and, as if to voice his unhappiness, dug his sharp claws into Taiga’s side and bit those tiny sharp teeth into his neck. “Ow! What the fuck! Stop that!”

“Aww, arguing already? So cute.” Ignoring Taiga’s growl of frustration, Dr. Hyuuga went on, and said, “I’m not sure why he imprinted on you. Pet dragons don’t imprint on humans. Especially as mates. They’re bred to be that way.”

The vet paused, and took off his glasses, cleaning the lenses with his coat. He looked quite younger without his glasses, a little less an asshole, more…human. “Besides, it would be horrifying if they did. Look at what humans do to their pet dragons.” The smile he gave Taiga was bitter.

(At this point, Taiga’s pretty sure what the vet’s stance on wing clipping was. He’s also pretty sure he wouldn’t get out of the clinic alive if he so as even hint on doing that to the white dragon.)

“He’s a wild one, though, and we don’t know much about them.” The vet’s glasses glinted strangely as he put it back on. “For now, you should probably keep him close to you, make sure he’s fine. For all we know, this might be just a fluke. And, for your information, he’s not a kid. He’s likely around your age. Probably older.”

And that was how Taiga ended up mated to a dragon.

***

“Have you mated with him yet?”

“Alex!” roared Taiga, his face no doubt turning to a shade of red far deeper than his own hair color. He thanked the absent gods Alex couldn’t see him now over the phone. “What—what the _hell_! He’s like—like a tiny fucking flying lizard—”

“—well, I’m sure you’ll find _ways_ ,” she insinuated in that sly voce of hers, oblivious to Taiga’s growing horror. “You’re a resourceful kid, and you did say your dragon mate is the same age as you, if not older, sooooooo—”

“That doesn’t mean I’m ma—I’m doing _that_ to him.” Taiga rubbed his very hot face with the palm of his hand, slumping on his seat as he ignored Alex’s obnoxious laughter.

He should never have told Alex about this, he just knew she would tease him. But she was his boss and mentor (and his adoptive mom, with questionable morals and habits Taiga would rather not traumatize himself thinking about), and she might find it weird when he turned up at work with a dragon perched on his head. He’d asked for the week off, just so he could get the hang of…having a dragon.

Said dragon, his “mate” (currently making himself at home on his head, the little shit) was now flapping his wings and making whining hungry bird noises, a sound Taiga had come to learn to mean that he’s very hungry, and would his useless mate make food already or _else_.

“Yeah, yeah, calm down. I’ll make your food now.” Last time Taiga had ignored him, the dragon set fire to his curtains. He’d learned his lesson since then. _Bossy little shit_ , thought Taiga, grumbling. The dragon growled at him, as if hearing his thoughts, but mercifully flew off his head.

Taiga watched with fascination as the dragon flew smoothly towards the kitchen, deftly avoiding obstacles, white-scaled wings gleaming under the lights like diamonds. He still wasn’t used to that, even after a week of living with the dragon.

Turning back his attention to the phone, Alex having stopped laughing and just making wheezing breaths, he said, “Sorry, Alex, got to go. Need to make dinner.”

“Awwww, you’re such a good little dragon housewife, Taiga,” she cooed, making him bristle in indignation. “So what does your dragon eat?”

 _He’s not_ my _dragon_. “Vanilla milkshake, usually. Sometimes he eats meat.”

“Really? I thought they don’t like cold stuff.”

“Hell if I know.” Taiga had been confused when the dragon proceeded to devour the Maji Burger vanilla milkshake (delivered to his house, because no way was he ready then to go out with a dragon to the stores) instead of the slices of meat he had painstakingly grilled just for him. He had called Dr. Hyuuga in panic, worried that the dragon would get sick, but the vet just waved off his concerns (for someone not to claim much knowledge on dragons, the vet seemed pretty confident of his advice) and told him to let the dragon eat what he liked.

“He’s a weird dragon,” Taiga told Alex.

As if on cue, there’s indignant cry from the kitchen, a warning before shit got real and things got set fire to. “Bye, Alex, see you tomorrow.”

Taiga didn’t bother to hear her reply, something about Taiga’s milkshake bringing dragons to the yard and something lewd about certain body parts (she was even singing it, “and they’re like, I like that co—”) he’d rather not think about, and just hung up, dropping the phone on the bed before he made his way to the kitchen, where he proceeded to cook the frozen gyoza he had made last week and made the dragon a vanilla milkshake.

The dragon made that happy purring sound when Taiga set the milkshake in front of him, before quietly slurping it down through a heat-resistant straw. Taiga found himself smiling, though he was not sure why.

It wasn’t all that bad, this past week since he…took in the dragon. The dragon was quiet most of the time, often disappearing somewhere before scaring the shit out of Taiga by appearing out of nowhere. Liked to curl up to him on his chest to sleep, a warm purring little coil of heat every night. Taiga had tried to put him in his own bed, but the dragon cried and cried, like a lost kid, and Taiga didn’t have the stomach to leave him like that.

Sure, the dragon liked to chew on his things, like his car keys, and once he had caught him trying to chew on his ring, and he had to fireproof his whole apartment, but the dragon mostly left stuff alone. Unless it got mad at Taiga, which thankfully was not often.

And there was the…mating thing, and the “excruciating pain if apart” pain, but so far that had not bothered Taiga as much as he thought it would. Alex was telling the truth, he was a resourceful boy in desperate times, and he found ways to adapt. He found slings to keep the dragon close to him, leather pads for his shoulders so his clothes and skin would not get torn by the claws. The dragon didn’t seem to expect much from him, just demanded food, his attention, and his body heat, so that was alright. He hadn’t had to perform mating dances or flights or any weird shit like that, which was even better.

He also got the proper licences, thanks to the vet, so he and the dragon should be safe legally. After a week with the dragon, Taiga was pretty confident the dragon would behave himself when they finally ventured out. Or so he desperately hoped.

The only problem Taiga foresees, would be the gold coins.

The gold coins the dragon kept leaving on his bed, the origins of which Taiga had no idea of.

Did the dragon have a hoard somewhere, like the legends say? Was he stealing them from someone? Wherever the gold coins came from, Taiga was not telling anyone about it, even the vet, even Alex, and definitely not Tatsuya. The last thing he needed was a horde of desperate idiots trying to steal the proverbial golden goose, or in this case, the dragon.

For now, he was just gonna keep hiding those coins in his safe box, the one his dad left behind before he went back, and just…let it accumulate.

Not the best plan, but that was what he got so far. Hopefully, this all worked out in the end. Otherwise, Taiga was _fucked_.

(He already _was_ , but he had not known it then.)

***

Heavy.

Something heavy was on Taiga’s chest.

 _Just the dragon_ , came his sleepy thought. The dragon curled on his chest again, probably snoring, little puffy clouds coming from his snout. Taiga was used to it now, though he still freaked out when he opened his eyes and found the dragon staring at him with his wide, blue eyes, as blue as the sky he would surely fly across one day, his enormous white wings casting a huge shadow on Taiga as he soared above him.

 _I’ll let you ride on my back, Kagami-kun_.

That’s a nice thought. A great one, even. The dragon really has good ide—

Taiga’s eyes snapped open then, because that voice came from _inside_ his head and was definitely far too distinct to be a dream. He woke up, and found himself face-to-face a strange man lying on top of him.

He froze, muscles locking up, too shocked to do anything for a few moments. “Hello, Kagami-kun,” the strange man said, calm, unbothered by Kagami’s distress. “I am glad we finally get to meet in this form. It has been very troublesome trying to communicate with you in my other form.”

Other form? Taiga stared at the stranger, who stared back at him with familiar blue eyes, same as the ones who had been staring back at him every time he woke up and following him around as he moved in the apartment. Recognition dawned on him then, shortly followed by his mind being blown to pieces.

“My name is Kuroko Tetsuya. And I,” the dragon—no, _Kuroko_ —said, lips curling to a faint smile, full of amusement and satisfaction of a predator who finally caught his prey, “am your Mate.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you don’t know [Neko Atsume](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neko_Atsume), please play it. This fanfiction was also inspired by [ a tumblr post on baby dragons.](http://life-of-a-teenaged-freak.tumblr.com/post/118751213680/stepchildofthesun-weretaire-baby-dragons-that>this%20tumblr%20post)


End file.
